Ruby Rose The Spectacular Scarlet Spider (REWRITE)
by The Vigilant Spider
Summary: Ruby always wanted to be like the heroes in the book, protecting the innocent while getting nothing in return. Now that she's been accepted into Beacon Academy, that dream seems reachable! However, when she gets bitten by a weird spider on her first day at school, it opens up a whole new can of worms for her to deal with. How will Ruby cope with her new powers and abilities?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Beginnings Part 1**

_**I love stories.**_

Rain struck the pitch-black ground of Vale, lightning following in suit to create an almost fantastical setting. While most people were either at their homes or working till the wee hours of the night, there was a small crowd of people crowded below the highest tower of Vale with bated breaths.

_BLAM! BLAM! _

_**That's what everyone thought I'd be when I was a little kid.**_

A swarm of police officers arrived on the scene, one taking out what looked to be a megaphone. The man spoke, "GET DOWN! PLEASE YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!". The officer pleaded, staring at a lone figure on top of the tower.

_If only it was true…... _The figure above sighed, slowly walking out of the shadows, staring at a black mask with white lenses with red outlines around them.

_**Ruby Rose, you were born to be a storyteller. **_

Ruby walked towards the ledge, sitting on the edge as she quietly contemplated what she was about to do.

"What are we gonna do captain?". One of the officers asked

The captain gave the man a hard look as if the answer was obvious. "Send up an officer, hopefully, they'll be able to talk her down".

"Yes, sir". The officer nodded, radioing in someone to get there before it was too late

_**I loved the songs, the fights, the battles, the romances. **_

Ruby took a deep breath, her body shaking with a mixture of fear and excitement. _C'mon Ruby, you can do this, you can do this. _She thought, shakily standing on her feet.

_I haven't heard any screams yet, hopefully, that means the kid is still there. _A lone officer, Rhiner was his name, was hastily making his way to the top, hoping he could get there before she would do something she regrets.

_**Then there came a day when I realized…. **_

Ruby slowly put on the mask, a flood of memories pouring through her mind, reminding her why she had to do this._ I know I'm doing the right thing, I can't stand by while people get hurt, not this time…._

_Why couldn't she choose a shorter building ..._Rhiner thought comically, only having a few more stories to go. He took a deep breath as he continued his ascent towards the top at a rapid pace._ C'mon kid, don't make me do something I regret…. _

…_**. I didn't have to just tell the stories. **_

Ruby knew she didn't have much time left, knowing that they would send someone to talk her down, she couldn't take that risk. She had to jump, if not she knew that she may not be able to build up that kind of courage again. _Remember what dad told you, I can't back down now._ She thought, determination filling her gaze.

Rhiner finally made it to the top, hastily opening the door, eyes widening in horror, "NOOOOO." He cried, horrified at what he saw.

Ruby took one last breath as she jumped into the unknown, ready to face whatever obstacles may lie ahead.

_**I could live my own.**_

**Beacon Academy, Two Weeks Earlier…...**

It was a beautiful day at Beacon Academy, the combination of the birds chirping and how the sunlight reflected off the many buildings' surfaces created a beautiful contrast that was a truly magnificent sight to behold. However, the same could not be said for the inside of the academy.

Ruby skidded past the hallway, eyes wide with fear. "OH CATS, WERE GONNA BE LATE!" Screamed Ruby, rushing to make it to class on time with her team in tow.

Weiss shook her head, "YOU ABSOLUTE DOLT, HOW DID YOU NOT REALIZE IT WAS 8:55!". Screamed Weiss, wondering how exactly she ended up with such an incompetent leader.

"Uh guys, we only have 10 seconds left". Said Yang, fearing that they won't make it time.

"It's going to be close". Blake remarked, seeing the door on the other side of the hallway.

**Professor Peach POV **

Celestia's day was going about as good as the first day back to work could (at least she actually got paid for being here), but ultimately it wasn't about the money, after all, teaching the next generation of huntsmen and huntresses was not a job to be taken lightly. Though, that doesn't mean she can't have some fun while doing it.

"Hello everybody! My name is Professor Peach and I'll be your dust instructor for the next- ."

_CRASH! _

Everybody immediately turned their heads towards the source of the noise, only to find team RWBY and JNPR spewed across the classroom floor.

"THAT WAS FUN!" Screamed Nora, thinking that the run to class was "fun"

"I TOLD YOU WE WOULDN'T MAKE IT YOU DOLT!" Weiss shouted, frustrated that they were late to their first class of the year.

"Yangggg you're crushing me!'. Ruby complained, having a hard time breathing with her sister on top of her.

"So much for making a good first impression". Blake said, grasping her head in pain.

"Ah team RWBY AND JNPR, I was wondering when you would-" She paused when her eyes landed on Ruby. "-...be joining us". She finished weakly, not expecting to see "her" daughter here already. _I saw the news but seeing her in person is another thing entirely…... _She thought, noticing the striking resemblance between the two roses.

_FWOOSH! _

"OMG, we are soooooo sorry Professor Peach, please don't blame them! If I had just paid more attention to the time then…." She rambled on, hands on her knees as she was practically begging for them not to get in trouble on the first day of class

Celestia blinked in surprise, _She's fast….another similarity between the two. _She smiled fondly. "Don't worry about it kids it's the first day, stuff like this happens all the time". She said reassuringly, waving her hand dismissively to help reinforce her point.

At this Ruby paused, eyes widening in surprise at her apparent carefree attitude. "OH, thank you thank you thank you thank you". Ruby said gratefully, giving her a hug to show her gratitude.

Celestia once again smiled, "It's no problem, Ruby, like I said stuff like this happens to the best of us!". She laughed, flashing back to how she was (almost) late to class herself.

Ruby nodded, herself and her team taking a seat in the second row.

"Now, as I was saying, my name is Professor Peach and I will be teaching you the many wonders of dust for the next four years". She said happily, giving off a kind and carefree vibe.

Weiss smiled, A class about dust? This should be a walk in the park for her.

**One hour later… **

"RUBY NO, YOU DON'T MIX ICE DUST WITH LIGHTNING, IF YOU DO, YOU'RE -"

_BOOM!_

"-...cause it to catch fire". Weiss grumbled, her face covered in soot from Ruby's little "explosion". She facepalmed, how is someone so utterly incompetent that she lights **ICE **dust on fire.

"Sorry Weiss….". Ruby whispered embarrassingly, her face equally as dirty as Weiss's.

_RING!_

Weiss sighed, "Just…give me some space". She huffed, shaking off the soot as she left for her next class

Ruby was about to hold out her hand, but quickly dismissed the thought as she saw the irritated look on Weiss's face. She sighed, "Why do I always mess things up". Ruby muttered under her breath, getting up so that she could make it to her next class on time.

Celestia noticed this, not wanting her student to leave on a sad note she decided to call her over, "Ruby, can we talk for a second". She said softly, not wanting the girl to think she was in trouble.

Ruby flinched at the sound of her name being called, nodding, she made her way towards her Professor. "Uh, do you need something, Professor?" She asked, confusion written all over her face.

Celestia shook her head, "Are you okay? Things didn't look like they were going well between you two?". She noted, noticing the tension between Ruby and her partner.

Ruby adopted a forced smile, "You mean between me and Weiss? Yeah, everything's fine, she just got mad at my little screw-up, it happens all the time, I'm used to it". She laughed weakly, trying to pretend that everything was alright. "Besides….she was right, I don't deserve to be here.'' She whispered to herself, preparing to walk herself towards her next class.

Celestia frowned, not wanting Ruby to feel this way, she added, "You know…. you're a lot like your mother". She said fondly as if she's playing back some old memories that Ruby wasn't aware of.

Ruby perked up at this, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "You knew my mom!." She exclaimed, jumping up and down from excitement at the mention of her long-dead mother.

Celestia gave her a fond smile, "Yes I did, she was a senior while I was a freshman, your mother was quite the capable huntress. "

Ruby's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, "Really!? What was she like?" She asked, voice full of innocent curiosity.

Celestia's smile vanished, replaced with a look of confusion. "Wait, you… didn't know?" She asked, surprised at Ruby's apparent lack of knowledge when it came to her mother.

Ruby shook her head, "No, Yang doesn't really talk about her that much and whenever I asked my dad about it he would usually clam up due to well, you know…" She trailed off, shoulders slumping as she was reminded of her mother's unfortunate fate.

Celestia gave her a sad smile, "She was a lot like you, though you don't seem to carry her mantra". She observed, slowly piecing together the fact that her family seemed to avoid talking about her mother.

Ruby raised a brow at this, "Mantra?" She asked, wondering what exactly her mom's "mantra" was.

Celestia's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, "You really don't know? She practically said it every day!". She laughed in disbelief

Now Ruby was even more confused, "What was her mantra?" She asked again, her silver eyes shining with curiosity

Celestia couldn't help but smile at the sheer amount of purity radiating off the girl, well aware that it wouldn't last forever. "She always said, '' With Great Power, there must also come Great Responsibility".

Ruby blinked, "What does that mean?" She asked, never hearing anything even remotely similar to that before.

Celestia shrugged her shoulders, "Who knows, when I asked her about it she told me it ran in the family, something about "keeping her humble".

Ruby tilted her head, "What did she mean by that?" She asked, confused by her mother's weird wording.

She shrugged, 'Frankly I have no idea, your mother never talked much about her past".

Before Ruby could respond, a sound came from Celestia's scroll.

_BUZZ! _

Celestia gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Ruby, I have to take this if you ever need help with anything know that my door is always open". She told her, wanting the young girl that she was welcomed back anytime.

Ruby nodded, "Thanks Professor, I'll definitely keep that in mind.'' She said before finally leaving for her next class. She sent a small wave just before leaving the room.

Celestia smiled as she walked away, thinking back to what she told Ruby. _I know exactly what she meant Ruby, but if you choose to go down this path then you'll need to learn that lesson on your own_. She thought, tapping the answer button on her phone.

"Hey Oz, what's the scoop?' She asked, wondering why Ozpin would call her right before her next class started.

"_Celestia". _He said curtly, tone devoid of emotion.

Celestia rolled her eyes, "Uh oh, what happened this time?" She asked in a playful tone.

"_The spider escaped". _

Her smile dropped, replaced by a look of absolute horror. "What!?" She whispered in disbelief.

"_Yes, as you could imagine the situation is quite dire". _He said, his calm tone masking his worry.

Still shocked, she managed to whisper out, 'When?".

"_This morning I'm afraid, I've already informed Glynda". _He explained.

Finally registering his previous statement, her shock morphed into anger. "That spider is highly experimental if it comes in contact with anyone it will most certainly prove fatal". She seethed, gritting her teeth in anger.

Ozpin nodded over the phone, "_Yes, Curt told me the same thing". _He said, hearing an almost word for word assessment from the scientist.

Celestia shook her head, "Oz…...do you realize how much time and money went into that! That spider was the only one that survived the transfusion, it will be practically impossible to recreate it!". She had to forcefully lower voice, not wanting her students to start asking questions.

She heard him sigh, "_I'm aware, which is why I want you to move forward with the replacements". _He explained, hoping that the situation could be salvaged.

Celestia' scoffed, "You mean the Lizards? She rolled her eyes, We can try but the spider was by far the superior specimen".

"_That may be the case, but I'm afraid we no longer have a choice in the matter"_

Celestia frowned, this is not what she wanted to hear. "Wonderful". She said sarcastically, "Anything else I should know about?" She questioned, making sure that she was fully aware of what was going on.

"_No, however, I'm curious about your thoughts on Miss Rose, knowing the history you had with her mother…." _He asked curiously.

Celestia huffed, a faint sign of a smile on her face. "She's her mirror image, but don't change the subject. How did it happen?". She asked with a grimace.

Ozpin briefly laughed, face turning serious as he explained the situation.

**A few hours ago… **

In a building not so far from Beacon's main campus, A scientist could be seen pressing a button on a nearby machine.

"Testing, testing good". Curt said, making sure all of his equipment was up and running. Curt then walked over to a small box-like enclosure holding a bizarre-looking spider, briefly tapping the glass in excitement. "Ready to make history little fella". He said, almost jumping up and down from excitement.

He took out a small case from a cabinet under the enclosure, opening it to reveal a fairly sized lightning dust crystal. With delicate hands, he placed the crystal into a filter attached to the cage.

"Commencing lightning dust absorption test one". He said, pressing a small circular button on the filter.

The filter made a noise, shooting small dust condensed lightning bolts at the spider. Curt briefly shielded his eyes, not wanting to damage his eyes from the light emanating off the spider. Curt opened his eyes, mouth agape when he saw the now glowing spider. With his shaking hands, he opened the filter, only to reveal a now grey crystal, no longer containing even the smallest amount of dust.

"T-this is amazing! I need to tell Ozpin immediately!". He stuttered in excitement, rushing to find his scroll in his cluttered office.

Curt was so caught up in his excitement that he didn't notice the glass of the case cracking from the now electrified spider, allowing it to crawl through a nearby vent that led to Beacon's main campus.

**Ruby POV **

Ruby Rose was crestfallen, entering the cafeteria with a look of defeat on her face. _Maybe Weiss was right, maybe I am just a no-good child that snuck my way into Beacon._ She thought, head down as she entered the practically empty buffet line.

Ruby sighed, _At least no one seems to be here this late, so that's good._ She thought, briefly looking around before she snagged a few chocolate chip cookies from the line, heading up to the cashier.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" The cashier asked, noticing the frown on her face.

Ruby flinched in surprise, not expecting her to pick up on it. "N-no mam I-I'm fine. Thank you". She said, putting on her best fake smile.

She paid for her food, making her way back to the room until she felt a tug on her hood. "What the-". She couldn't finish her sentence as she was suddenly being held in the air, causing her to drop her cookies on the cold dirty floor.

"Aw, what's wrong little red, can't fight without that fancy scythe of yours? Cardin sneered, tossing her to the ground.

"OOF", Ruby said, landing on the ground with a hard thud. Ruby quickly got up, staring daggers at Cardin. However, to her surprise, Cardin was already on his way out, back turned to her in disgust.

"Pathetic, how could Ozpin let a rat like you into Beacon". Cardin sneered in disgust, walking out of the cafeteria

Ruby was about to protest but stopped when she remembered everything else that had happened that day, head drooping in shame. _He's right, I don't belong here_. She thought sadly, exiting the cafeteria on her way back to her dorm.

Due to her depressed state, she failed to notice as a lone spider crawled up her leggings.

Ruby sighed, kicking a nearby trash can, "How can I even look at Weiss after what happened today". She said bitterly, thinking back to her fight with Weiss.

"_Ozpin made a mistake". _

"GUHHH". Ruby shouted, uncharacteristically punching a nearby wall, not even making the slightest scratch.

"OWW" Ruby said shaking her now red hand. Ruby slouched, curling herself up into a ball. "I just wish I was stronger". She whispered out, voice muffled by her arms

Unbeknownst to her, her wish would be granted, forever changing her life in the process.

The spider crawled its way up to her hand, sinking its fangs in Ruby's right hand.

Ruby's eyes snapped open, not expecting the sudden pain emanating from her hand. "OWWW" She cried, instinctively slapping her hand as hard as she could, leaving a large red bump on her hand.

"What was that?" She asked, opening her hand to reveal a large black spider with a red 31 on it's abdominal. "Woahhhh that's a big spider". She added, starting to feel a bit lightheaded. "I-I think I should probably head back to the dorm". She said, sweat rapidly forming around her body. "Y-yeah that sounds like a good idea". Ruby sputtered out, stumbling back to her dorm.

**Yang POV **

Yang was currently on her bed, busy playing on her scroll as a sigh escaped her lips. "Hey, Blake?" She asked, turning her gaze toward the raven-haired girl.

Blake slightly lowered her book, meeting Yang's gaze. "Hm". She asked.

Yang plopped her scroll on the ground, "I'm bored, entertain me". She demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Blake.

Blake raised a brow at this, giving Yang her full undivided attention. "Really?"

Yang sighed, "Sorry Blakey but it's just soooo boring!" Yang complained, stretching her arms out in exasperation.

Blake stifled a laugh, "You know, I would expect something like that out of Ruby, you… not so much". She said lightheartedly.

Yang sat up in protest, about to respond until….

_SMASH! _

The door was flung to the other side of the dorm, revealing a very sick looking Ruby. She stumbled into the dorm, leaving a trail of sweat in her wake.

Yang quickly ran to her sister, concern plastered over her face. "Woah, Ruby are you ok"?!

Ruby weakly looked up, "Yang, I don't feel so good" She muttered out tiredly, her eyes gently fluttering to a close.

Noticing Ruby's tired state, she frantically shook her shoulders, "Ruby?! RUBY is everything okay!?" She repeated frantically.

Ruby's eyes slowly opened, "H-huh, oh s-sorry I kinda blacked out for a moment". She said weakly, pushing Yang's arm away with a surprising amount of strength. Ruby stumbled to her bed, looking like she can barely stand.

Blake raised a brow at this, "Are you sure you're ok Ruby, you really don't look too good" Blake asked, concern laced in her voice.

"Yeah, are you sure someone didn't drug your cookies or something?" Yang asked, only half-joking.

"C-cookies?" She repeated, remembering that she never got to eat her cookies. Her stomach roared in response. Ruby grabbed her stomach in pain, _Ughhhh I feel like I haven't eaten in ages!._ She observed, only just now noticing just how hungry she really is. "Speaking of food, do you have any leftovers I could eat?". She asked.

Yang quirked a brow, "I think I have some leftover chicken, and Blake always has some tuna around but I don't- "

_FWOOSH! _

Before Yang could finish her sentence, Ruby dashed to her leftovers, ripping them apart like a wild animal.

"Woah Woah Ruby slow down, at this rate you'll-"

_FWOOSH!_

Once again, the sound of Ruby's semblance cut her off as she frantically looked around the room, causing Yang to dodge when a bunch of objects was thrown across the room, making an absolute mess.

_SOOOOO HUNGRY!. _Ruby thought, finding Blake's secret stash of tuna, completely devouring it in under a minute. Ruby licked her fingers, a smile of satisfaction on her lips.

Yang and Blake were absolutely gobsmacked, "S-She ate it all…." Blake said, starting to cry at the thought of all that delicious tuna going to waste.

Yang, however, stayed silent, _Geez I know Ruby has an appetite but…. _

Before she could continue that train of thought, they both heard a loud Thump noise as Ruby literally crashed on her bed.

Yang gave Ruby a pointed look, "Ruby are you're ok, you're acting…... weirder than usual.'' She observed, noticing the sudden shift in her attitude.

Ruby only groaned in response, shifting uncomfortably in her bed.

Blake gave Yang a worried look, "Is it…...you know". She asked hesitantly, not wanting to bring **that** up.

Yang raised a brow, "What are you….". She paused, eyes widening when she realized what she was referring too. "Oh, uh nononono that's uh completely different". She clarified, not wanting Blake to get the wrong idea.

"Then…" Blake trailed off, looking at their leader's disturbed state. "What's wrong with her"? She asked genuinely.

Yang turned her gaze to her sister, a look of worry on her face. "I….I don't know." She said honestly, _If it was anything big, then she would probably tell me…...right?_

"Well, I'm sure it's no big deal. We should probably get some sleep, I don't know if I could stop myself from beating that Ice queen after the shit she pulled". Yang said, still irritated about what Weiss said about her sister.

Blake nodded, turning off the lights as the two went to their respective beds.

**Later that night…. **

Weiss entered the room, a look of regret on her face._ As much as I hate to admit it, Professor Ozpin was Right_. She thought, walking towards Ruby's bed.

To her surprise, Ruby looked almost…...disturbed. Weiss raised a brow, taking a closer look at her leader. Ruby's body was constantly convulsing, mumbling incoherent nonsense as she was clearly in pain.

Weiss was about to wake her when she saw her _arms_. She didn't know how to describe it but it looked like they were…...pulsating. _What in the world happened to her…?_ She thought, wondering why her leader seemed to be in such a state._ I hope it has to do with me…._ She thought, already feeling bad enough about how much of a hard time she'd given the poor girl

"Ruby?" she asked meekly.

Ruby's eyes snapped open, taking deep breaths until she saw that it was only Weiss. _Oh thank Zwei._ She thought, relief flowing through her.

"Are you ok Ruby?" She asked, genuinely worried about her leader's health.

Ruby raised a brow, _Who are you and what have you done with Weiss_. "I-I'm fine, how are you?'' She added, Ruby mentally facepalmed, _No wonder Yang thinks I'm antisocial…. _

Weiss gave her an amused look, "I'm fine…." She said awkwardly, not really knowing how to continue the conversation.

_Oh man, this is awkward_. Ruby thought, thinking back to their last confrontation.

After a few more seconds of uncomfortable silence, Weiss sighed. "I'm…. sorry, Ruby". She said truthfully, feeling bad about snapping at her.

Ruby snapped her head this, "Wait what". She said dumbly, not expecting Weiss to apologize.

Weiss continued, "I truly think you have what it takes to be a great leader, and just know that I will be the best teammate I can be". She said reassuringly.

Ruby looked absolutely gobsmacked, "T-thanks Weiss…". She said meekly, surprised at how the thought to be Ice queen was being.

Weiss smiled, "Goodnight Ruby, get some rest'' she said sweetly.

"T-thanks Weiss".

Weiss nodded, quietly closing the door on her way out.

Ruby weakly smiled, _Since that's over maybe now I can finally get some sleep. _She thought, letting sleep overcome her once again.

Oh, how wrong she was

"**Ruby". ** A voice whispered out.

Ruby's eyes snapped open, taking in her surroundings.

She was in a pitch-black void, surrounded by what looked like a giant web. _Are those…...webs?_ She asked herself, wondering how a web that big could exist.

"**Ruby".**

Ruby jumped at the sound of the voice, "W-where am I?" She asked, lips quivering in fear.

For a second there was nothing until she what looked to be white rose petals, forming into a figure Ruby was very familiar with.

"M-MOM!" She cried, giving the woman a bone-crushing hug that could even rival the likes of Yang. "I-I knew you were still out there, Yang told me you were dead but I knew-"

"**Ruby".** She said again, more menacing than before.

At this, Ruby paused, slowly backing away in fear.

"M-mom". She asked timidly.

"**Ruby".** She heard from behind.

Ruby yelled, turning around only to be met with the eyes of her mom once again.

"What's going on?'' she questioned out of fear, backing up only to feel something on her back.

"**Ruby".**

Ruby screamed once again, realizing she was surrounded by the figures that looked like her mother.

"M-Mom stop!" She pleaded, only to be met with silence.

"**Ruby".** Another voice said from the right.

"**Ruby".** She heard, this time coming from the left

They were closing in on her now, saying nothing but her name.

Ruby was clutching heard, trying to block out the noise but to no avail. "S-STOP PLEASE!", She begged, tears rapidly pouring out of her eyes.

The four figures stopped, turning back into rose petals as they all began to transform into one ginormous spider.

"**Ruby Rose, it is time for you to take your place on the web of life".** The spider stated, voice booming with an almost divine presence.

The ground beneath Ruby started to shake, multiple cracks being formed in the process.

"W-What's going-". She couldn't finish as the ground below her shattered, causing her to fall into the deep dark abyss.

However, before the spider was out of sight it heeded her a warning that she would remember for the rest of her life. **"Never forget, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"**.

With that, her vision faded, causing her to see nothing but black.

**Hey guys! If you're here then you've probably already seen the rewrite notice. Anyways, I know some people may be mad about me starting over but it's something I had to do. Sorry about the short chapter but I have a head start on chapter 2 so it should be out a lot quicker this time! Please enjoy and as always, reviews are welcomed!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Beginnings part 2 **

"Ruby"?

Ruby woke up with a start, springing into action, feeling an almost deafening tingle in the back of her head as she grabbed the hand of the person above her.

"OW! Ruby, what the-"

The figure didn't have time to finish her sentence as she was thrown into a nearby wall.

"Ruby, what are you-"

The tingling in the back of her head returned, causing her to do a side aerial onto the second figure without even sparing a glance. Ruby then used her legs to flip the person on the ground a few feet away, causing a loud thud in the process.

"Ruby, stop it's just-"

Ruby felt a hand on the back of her shoulder. Ruby's hair on the back of her neck stood up as she turned around and grabbed the person by the neck, slamming her onto the ground so hard that it cracked on impact.

Weiss was surprised at the sheer force of the impact, startled by the angry look on her leader's face. "R-ruby, it's me, Weiss" Weiss coughed out, voice straining from being choked.

Ruby's gaze softened when she saw Weiss's face. "W-Weiss". She asked, snapping out of whatever trance she was in.

_BLAM!_

The door to Team RWBY's dorm opened, revealing a concerned team JNPR. "Guys is everything- WHAT THE HECK"! Jaune exclaimed, not expecting to see Weiss being choked by Ruby.

"Wait, Jaune?" She asked, not expecting to see JNPR at the door.

"Uh, R-ruby?" Weiss choked out, still being choked by Ruby.

Ruby's eyes widened, quickly removing her hand from Weiss's neck. "S-sorry Weiss, I uh didn't know what came over me there…." She apologized, feeling bad for hurting her friend.

"Ughhh, love you too sis". Yang groaned, holding her arm in pain.

Ruby gasped, turning around only to find an injured Yang and Blake.

"OH MAN, I am so sorry!" Ruby cried, helping them both off the ground.

"It's okay Rubes, but…...since when could you throw that hard"?. Yang asked, not expecting her sister to be that strong.

"Yeah, you seem to have really good reflexes". Blake observed, her sides aching in pain.

"Uh, are we missing something"? Jaune asked, his teammates nodding their heads in agreement.

"How did your room become so messy?" Pyrrha asked.

"Apparently, my little sis has been holding out on us". Yang said curiously, slinging her arm around Ruby's neck.

"Hehe, yeah you got me….". Ruby nervously laughed._ What was that tingling in my head?_ Ruby thought, wondering what that weird tingle was.

Jaune didn't lose the confused look on his face, "Uh, what?'' he asked, completely lost about what happened.

Yang rolled her eyes, "What I mean is that my sister went full ninja badass on us, even more so than Blakey here". Yang said teasingly.

Blake scowled, rolling her eyes at her overenthusiastic partner.

"Hehe, yeah but enough about me, don't we have class in like 20 minutes?" Ruby asked, trying to steer the topic away from herself.

...

...

"OH, SHIT SHE'S RIGHT". Yang yelled, not wanting to be late again. "We can talk about my sister later, now shoo!" Yang said, practically pushing the amused JNPR through the door.

_Who knew that brute actually cared about class, I suppose you learn something new every day. _Weiss thought to herself.

Ruby sighed, happy that the topic of conversation has successfully been changed._ Alright, all I have to do is change, and (hopefully) get to class on time. _She thought, taking off her shirt so that she could change into her uniform.

However, all hopes of being out of the spotlight were shot down when she saw her team staring at her shirtless form. "What?" Ruby asked, noticing Yang's shocked look along with Blake and Weiss's beet-red face._ Are those two okay?" _Ruby thought in confusion, wondering what the big deal was.

"Y-you d-dolt put a shirt on!". Weiss said, face red with embarrassment.

Ruby raised a brow. _Why is her face so red? She saw me without a shirt on just a few days ago, so what's-. _

"RUBY WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU!". Yang practically screamed, wondering what the hell happened to her sister.

Ruby still looked confused, "What are you guys talking about?" She said, tilting her head in confusion.

"J-just look at a mirror…" Blake said quietly, veering her eyes away from Ruby.

"Ok…." Ruby said, entering the bathroom only to have her eyes to nearly bulge out of their sockets when she saw her reflection.

While she was still thin in nature, her physique has changed massively. All traces of baby fat were gone, replaced with a perfectly chiseled six-pack that would make most guys jealous. Her arms, while still small felt heavier, firmer than the metals she used to forge Crescent Rose.

"W-what's happening to me," Ruby muttered out in a mixture of fear and confusion, slipping on some remnants of toothpaste someone (**cough **Yang **cough**) forgot to clean up.

The deafening tingle returned, causing her to flip into the air. Ruby closed her eyes, waiting until she would be back on the ground. However, when she noticed she wasn't falling, she slowly opened her eyes, only to reveal that her arms and legs were_ sticking_ to the ceiling.

….

….

"AHHHHHH!" Ruby screamed, freaking out over the fact that she was literally STICKING to the ceiling!

"RUBY ARE YOU OK!". She heard Yang cry from outside, concern laced in her voice.

Ruby's expression turned from scared to mortified.

"Y-yeah I'm fine, just in a bit of a sticky situation…..." She said, not wanting her sister to come in and find her like this. Ruby paused, slamming her head on the wall upon registering what she just said._ Oh, gods please don't tell me I just made a pun!_ Ruby thought, hating the idea of punning with her sister. "I just, um ...got toothpaste stuck in my hair. Yeah."

"... Was that a pun?" Yang asked teasingly, delighted at the idea of her sister following in her footsteps.

Ruby groaned,_ Ughhhh please tell me this is a dream._ She thought, trying to pull her hands off the ceiling.

'But seriously, are you ok Rubes? You sound a little freaked out". Yang asked knowingly.

"W-what? Whatever gave you that idea, hehe". Ruby laughed weakly, pulling harder on the ceiling.

Yang shook her head, "Alright Rubes, I didn't want to do this but…. "She trailed off.

Ruby's eyes widened in fear. _OH no, nonononono I know that voice!_ Ruby thought frantically, giving one last tug with all her might.

"HEYAH". Yang cried, punching the door with all her might.

"You….couldn't have used the key?" Blake asked, wondering why she had to make a spectacle out of it.

"Nope". She said, popping the p. "Now…" she said, turning her head in Ruby's direction.

"WAIT I CAN EXPLAIN!". Ruby yelled, attempting to explain herself before Yang would freak out.

Yang raised an eyebrow, "You mean why you're on the floor?" Yang asked, wondering what her sister was so worked up about.

Ruby opened an eye at this, "...What?". Ruby said, noticing that she was back on solid ground. _OH, sweet mother of Zwei thank you!_ She thought to herself, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Yang gave her a weird look, noticing the residue of sheetrock on Ruby's fingers. "What's that on your hand? She asked accusatory, wondering why her sister's hands were dirty.

Ruby's eyes widened, tucking her hands behind her back in a panic she said, "O-oh, I just uh…..haven't watched my hands yet! Yeah, that's it." Ruby said, rushing over to the sink to wash the residue off her hands.

Yang and Blake weren't buying it, but Weiss just rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Did you teach her any manners?" She asked, turning her gaze towards Yang.

Yang gave a non-committal shrug.

Weiss groaned,_ "_Why am I not surprised…." She muttered silently to herself, shaking her head in exasperation.

Ruby inwardly took a sigh of relief, quickly putting on her uniform before she could get herself into any more awkward situations. _Ok, let's try to get to class before I screw anything else up. "_C'mon guys, we can't be late two days in a row, now can we?" Ruby asked rhetorically, speeding off before they could give a response.

As soon as she left, WBY had various levels of confusion plastered on their face wondering why Ruby of all people seemed to be in a rush to get to class.

"Is…. she okay?" Weiss asked, wondering about her leader's strange new behavior.

"I ...think so?" Yang tried to say reassuringly, however it ended up sounding more like a question than an answer.

Blake just shook her head, "We should get moving"

Yang began to smirk, "Yeah you're right, besides maybe after her fight with our resident Ice Queen she finally 'R_ose' _to the occasion, eh eh?" Yang punned, elbowing Blake with her arm.

Weiss and Blake both groaned, however, Blake couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

It was small, but enough.

Yang gasped, "OH MY GODS YOU LAUGHED!" She said, pointing an accusatory finger at Blake.

Blake's smile instantly turned into a frown, "No I didn't.'' Blake said, trying to sound as devoid of emotion as possible.

Yang nonetheless, wasn't taking no for an answer, "Nu uh uh, don't try to deny it, Blakey, you LOVE my puns". Yang stated cheekily, wagging her finger in front of Blake.

Blake rolled her eyes and proceeded in an attempt to catch up with Ruby, only to realize they weren't too far behind….

"C'MON WORK!". Ruby shouted in irritation, pumping her arms to no avail.

The others soon joined her, eyebrows raised at their leader's little 'scene'.

"Uhhhhhhh Rubes…...what are you doing?" Yang asked, wondering why her sister was randomly flailing her arms around.

Ruby flinched at the sound of her sister's voice, slowly turning around to meet her gaze. "O-oh hey guys, sorry about that my semblance is just acting a bit wonky today". She explained, trying to reassure her team with a fake smile.

Blake raised an eyebrow, "Your semblance?" She asked in confusion, never hearing about people being unable to use their semblance while they have full auras.

Yang was about to say something but was drowned out by Weiss. "YOU ABSOLUTE DOLT, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SEMBLANCE! YOU WERE ABLE TO USE IT JUST FINE YESTERDAY!" Weiss screamed in anger, wondering how Ruby could find new ways to drive her to insanity.

Ruby winced at her tone, "I…...don't know, it was working when I first left the room, but then it just…...stopped." Ruby trailed off, not knowing what to make of it.

Yang eyed her worriedly, remembering how sick her sister was the night before "Are you sure you're ok Rubes? That isn't normal. '' Yang asked Weiss and Blake, nodding in agreement.

Ruby, not wanting to worry her friends, waved her hand dismissively. "Guys really I'm fine, it's probably just from me being sick yesterday". Ruby explained, hoping they would buy her excuse.

WBY eyed her critically for a moment, trying to tell if she was lying or not. After a short pause, Yang spoke for the group. "Well if you're sure…."

Ruby cut her off, "Yep, c'mon guys, we only have 10 minutes till class starts!". Ruby exclaimed, taking off the direction of Peach's classroom. _What is going on with me today?_ Ruby thought, pushing it to the back of her mind as she made her way to the classroom.

**A few minutes later…. **

Ruby and her friends took their respective seats, Peach briefly smiling in Ruby's direction as she noticed Ruby's upbeat attitude before turning to face the rest of the class. "Hello class, today we will be continuing from where we left off yesterday". She explained, referring to when the class tried to combine both ice and lightning dust.

Ruby froze, remembering the mini-explosion she caused the day before. However, Ruby must have not been the only person scared by yesterday's 'events' as Peach added, "Don't worry, in spite of yesterday's…. 'accident', I will be giving you a detailed demonstration to make sure nothing of the sort happens again.

The class took a collective sigh of relief, turning their attention towards the demonstration.

After Professor Peach put on her safety goggles, she took out two beakers- with each one being filled up with both ice and lightning dust respectively. Then with practiced ease, she poured small amounts of both types into one of many smaller beakers, turning on the hot blue flame. The flame caused the beaker to bubble, changing its color to that of blood red. She then used the tongs to carefully pick it up, placing it in water so it would cool down before finally holding it up to the class.

"And that is how you combine dust without causing the smoke alarms to go off". Peach chuckled, always enjoying any excuse she gets to play around with the dust.

_Wow…._ Weiss thought, happy to know there was someone at Beacon who actually knew how to handle dust.

Ruby, though was taking this time to think about what had happened earlier in the morning. _Ok, so to recap: I can stick to walls, I have a weird thing in my head that happens whenever I'm in some kind of danger, and I'm arguably more ripped than my sister. So, the only question is…...HOW!_ She finished, freaking out the more she thought about it.

_Don't tell me I'm secretly a Faunas or something. I mean, it's not like I'm a racist or anything but last time I checked I was human! Like, I know dad never told me much about mom, but I think he would tell me whether or not I'm a Faunas!_ She thought, ruling out that possibility.

Ruby leaned back into her chair, trying to think of what could have caused these 'changes'._ Ugh, this reminds me of when Yang and dad didn't give me the talk and I had to try to figure things out on my own…._ Ruby recalled, a cold shiver running down her spine when she remembered how she accidentally ended up on that 'adult' site, suffice to say that she was scarred for life.

Ruby shook her head, attempting to steer herself back to the topic of hand._ C'mon Ruby think, what happened yesterday? I had my first day of school, got into a fight Weiss and Cardin, blew up the lab and… _Ruby trailed off, feeling like she was forgetting something.

"Ruby? Dolt? Are you even paying attention?" Weiss asked irritably, snapping her fingers to get her leader's attention.

This brought Ruby out of her train of thought, she shook her head. "S-sorry Weiss, I'm still feeling a bit off from yesterday". She half lied, obviously leaving out the part of what happened earlier in the morning.

To her surprise, Weiss didn't berate her or call her a dolt. Instead, she took a deep breath and looked Ruby in the eye. "Ruby…are you sure you're ok?" When I came in last night you looked ill." Weiss asked knowingly, remembering how uncomfortable Ruby seemed to be last night.

Ruby blinked in surprise, not expecting Weiss to ask her about that. The surprise quickly wore off, causing Ruby to briefly shake her head before she answered. "Uh y-yeah totally, why wouldn't I be?" Ruby lied, her voice cracking from the obvious lie.

Weiss sighed, "What even happened yesterday? You seemed fine for most of the day, were you food poisoned or something? Weiss asked, concern laced into her voice.

Ruby gave her a confused look, "What do you mean, I told you guys right? She asked, confused why Weiss asked what seemed to be an obvious question.

Weiss shook her head, "No, you left before we could ask you anything about it remember?

Ruby merely tapped her chin before answering, "Huh I guess you're right. Well, it wasn't anything major, I just got bit by a… Ruby trailed off, eyes widening in realization. "...spider". She gasped, putting the pieces together.

"Dolt, are you okay?" Weiss asked, moving a hand between her eyes.

_Oh, my gods oh my gods OH MY GODS!_ She thought, thinking back to her strange new abilities._ The wall-crawling, the strength, it all makes sense,_ _THAT SPIDER GAVE ME SUPERPOWERS!_ She fangirled, her inner nerd jumping for joy. _This has to be the best day ever!_ She thought, her silver eyes sparkling with childlike joy at the thought of having superpowers.

Weiss, however, was not so enthused. After continuously trying to get Ruby's attention for over a minute she finally lost her cool. Weiss pulled on Ruby's arm, making sure Ruby could hear her loud and clear "Ruby Rose if you don't answer me soon then I swear I'll-."

Ruby's eyes widened in surprise, snapping herself back into reality she said, "S-sorry Weiss again… I-I just got lost in my thoughts hehe." Ruby chuckled nervously, noticing the stares from the other students.

Weiss's right eye twitched, but instead of combusting, she remembered what Ozpin told her and took a deep breath. "It's fine, just please focus on the assignment." Weiss told her calmly.

"R-right, uh…...what are we doing again?" Ruby squeaked out.

Weiss facepalmed, wondering how the hell she was gonna get through the rest of this class.

**One hour later…. **

Ruby and Weiss were nearly done with the experiment, having the newly combined dust being heated above a brilliant blue flame. "Ok Ruby, please grab the dust so that we can properly cool it". Weiss calmly instructed her leader, writing the results in her notebook.

Ruby happily nodded, excitedly grabbing the dust which she soon handed to Weiss.

Weiss nodded, turning her attention towards Ruby as she grabbed the dust from Ruby's palm.

Or at least, she tried.

Ruby, can you please let go?" Weiss asked her leader, wondering why the dust seemed firmly planted in her hand.

Ruby's looked like she wanted to die, her mind flashing back to what happened earlier in the bathroom. "Uhhhhhhh about that…." She trailed off, not knowing how to properly explain the situation.

Weiss brow furrowed, "Ruby give me the dust". Weiss asked, slowly losing her temper as she started to pull harder on the vile, failing to notice that with each pull the dust inside the vile seemed to grow more and more unstable.

"I ...can't?" she squawked, noticing how Weiss seemed to be losing her patience. _Oh god please don't get mad at me again_. Ruby thought, acting like a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar.

That was the last straw for Weiss, "RUBY ROSE IF YOU DON'T GIVE ME THAT DUST THIS INSTANT THAN SO HELP ME, I'LL-"

Spider-sense

Ruby acted without thinking, yanking the bottle out of Weiss's grasp as she flipped several feet into the air. The class gasped, surprised at the young Rose's feat. However, their surprised awe soon turned into a look of fear when they heard a noise mid flip.

_BOOOM! _

"RUBY!". Her sister cried, hoping her sister wasn't injured from the small explosion.

Ruby winced as she felt her skin burn, no doubt from containing the miniature explosion. _Wait, why didn't my aura activate? _She thought in confusion, however, she didn't have much time to dwell on it as her enhanced reflexes made it so that she was able to keep her posture, causing her to land on her feet in an odd crouch like position. Ruby sighed in relief, dusting off her now soot ridden dress. "Huh, that hurt less than I thought it would." She mused, unaware of the shocked looks she was getting from her classmates.

"W-what just". Weiss stuttered out in shock, pointing a shaking finger towards her leader.

"Huh?" Ruby said, turning around only to see the whole class gaping at her. _Oh yeah, I forgot about them…._ She sweatdropped, this was going to be a long day.

**A few hours later…. **

"Sooooo, are you still not gonna tell us what that was all about?" Yang asked, wondering how her sister was able to tank an explosion to the chest with merely a scratch.

"Yeah, the way you tanked that explosion was AWESOME!". Nora exclaimed, extending her arms in a wide array.

Ruby laughed sheepishly, "I already told you guys, I was just lucky that's all.". Ruby replied, putting a hand on the back of her neck.

Yang rolled her eyes, "Sis don't get me wrong but you're not exactly the most…. graceful person I know, at least when you're not using your scythe".

Ruby pouted, "Love you too." She dryly stated, picking up her lunch tray.

Yang sighed, "Look, sis, we're just worried about you right guys? She questioned, turning her attention towards her friends.

They all nodded, Weiss surprisingly stepping forward. "You dolt, we're your friends, so don't start keeping secrets from us now, or we're gonna have problems." She huffed, crossing her arms.

Ruby smiled, "Thanks, Weiss." She said, knowing that was Weiss's unique way of expressing her concern.

After a few seconds, Nora broke the silence, "Well, now that things are all fine and dandy..." She trailed off, staring at her food with a hungry look. "LET'S EAT!". She shouted, digging into her massive stack of pancakes.

They all laughed, _Things are going better than I thought they would, maybe I should tell them about-" _

"HEY PIPSQUEAK!". Cardin yelled, interrupting Ruby's train of thought.

Ruby internally groaned, _Oh cats_. She thought, upset that Cardin ruined her good mood. Slowly, Ruby got up, but before she could leave, she felt a slight tug on her shoulder.

When she turned around, she saw Yang with a concerned look on her face, "Be careful Rubes

Ruby nodded as if it was her way of telling her _'Don't worry, I can handle this'_, before making her way towards Cardin she said, "What do you want Cardin". She asked tiredly, usually, she would be a bit frightened of him but with everything that was going on today, she was too tired to care.

Cardin seemed to take note of this, "Oh? Did Little Red finally grow a backbone? '' He mocked, staring at her with a sinister look in her eyes.

Ruby sighed, "Cardin please, just leave me alone today.". She pleaded, turning around so that she could *hopefully* make it back to her friends before he does anything stupid.

Cardin smiled sinisterly," Hold on Red, what's the rush?". He said, putting an arm on the back of her shoulder.

That was a mistake.

Ruby's spider-sense reacted instantly, causing her to instinctually grab Cardin's arm, smashing him into the ground so hard that the impact created a small shockwave. When the dust cleared, it revealed Cardin on the ground groaning from the hit, his aura fizzling from the impact.

The room gasped, a mixture of awe and fear filled the room.

"OH, MY GODS I AM SO SORRY". Ruby shouted, attempting to help him out of the small crater she made.

However, when she tried to help Cardin, he pulled his arm away in anger, "You'll pay for that pipsqueak. BOYS GET HER!'" He shouted, face red with anger.

Ruby was about to apologize again when she felt a familiar tingle in the back of her head, her body moving on its own as she did a quadruple backflip. This allowed her to land on the top of one of the wooden cafeteria tables in the same crouch position she was in earlier.

"What the hell". Muttered Dove Bronzewing in surprise

A crowd was beginning to form, all eyes on Ruby as they awaited her next move.

_Okay, maybe I can still salvage this, hopefully, I can just apologize, and we can all be on our-" _She was snapped out of her train of thought when she saw a familiar mace coming in her direction. She acted instantaneously, grabbing his mace, using it as leverage to flip Cardin and herself, forcing Cardin to drop his mace as he crashed into one of the surrounding tables.

Ruby was about to let her guard down when she heard footsteps coming from behind her, her new instincts causing her to throw the mace behind her.

_BLAM!_

A pained groan was heard as the mace hit Sky Lark square in the chest, forcing his body to skid across the floor and right into another table.

The crowd was mesmerized by Ruby's show of grace and elegance. The way she was fighting was something expected out of an experienced huntsman, not a 15-year-old first year.

Meanwhile, WBY and JNPR were equally surprised, various thoughts running through their heads, attempting to decipher just what exactly happened to Ruby.

_Her movements are so…._ Blake thought in surprise, noticing how her movements seemed to have an animalistic flair that was rarely seen in most faunas.

"It's almost like she's…dancing." Pyrrha noted in awe, surprised that someone as young as Ruby was capable of such feats.

Nora turned her attention to Weiss, "So, did you like, teach her some tips or something because I'm pretty sure that she couldn't do that at Initiation." Nora asked the question on everybody's mind.

Weiss didn't answer at first, too focused on the way Ruby seemed to be contorting her body in ways that shouldn't be possible. "N-no I-I didn't even know that she was capable of any forms of grace without that oversized gardening tool". Weiss muttered out, eyes glued to the fight at hand.

"Well, if that's the case then…" She trailed off, looking back at the fight. "BREAK HIS LEGS RUBY!"

Ren shook his head.

They all turned to look at Yang, "Hey don't look at me, this is a first for me too." Yang said, holding her arms up in defense. _First her sudden six-pack and then this…... Just what is going on with you Rubes ..._?

**Ruby POV **

The fight was beginning to wind down, with Cardin being the last one standing while the rest of his team is groaning on the ground in pain. Suffice to say, that this was _not_ how Ruby thought her day would go.

_Oh, gods, I am going to be in sooooo much trouble. _Ruby thought with dread, her body uncontrollably dodging Cardin's hits with absolute ease.

Cardin was starting to get tired, huffing and puffing as his swings were starting to become sloppy. Knowing that he was getting nowhere, Cardin dropped his mace and put the remainder of his aura into one last punch.

Ruby saw this, about to dodge the attack when she noticed her feet were stuck to the ground._ Oh, nononono this is not the time for my body to get all sticky again. _She thought, wondering why she wasn't feeling the strange tingle in her head. Seeing no other option, Ruby closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact.

_CRACK! _

The crowd winced at the sound, thinking that Cardin's punch made an ugly mark on Ruby's face. However….

Yang's eyes went wide, "Damn…." She whistled in surprise.

Not feeling any pain, Ruby slowly opened her eyes, only to have her breath hitch at what she saw.

Cardin was on his knees, holding his brutally battered hand as he looks up to Ruby with hatred in his eyes. "JUST WHAT KIND OF FREAK ARE YOU!" He screams, furious at the sight of his now mangled hand.

Ruby felt her breath get stuck in her throat, unable to formulate a response. "I-I" She stuttered, still in shock from the fact that Cardin's hand was broken from merely punching her._ What did that thing do to me…?_ She thought, looking at her hands in confusion. _Maybe I should tell someone before things get too out of-._

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE!". An angry Glynda Goodwitch said, her eyes focused on the bodies of the beaten team CRDL.

Before Ruby could explain herself, Cardin said, "IT WAS HER, THAT FREAK BEAT UP MY TEAM AND I FOR NO REASON!" Cardin cried, pointing an accusatory finger towards the fear-stricken Rose.

Glynda turned her attention towards Ruby, eyes narrowing as she said, "Is that true Miss Rose?" She asked sternly.

Ruby's eyes widened in fear as she held her hands up in a defensive manner, "W-what no, Cardin was antagonizing me and my team then"

"Forget it, a week's worth of detention, for all of you!". She said sternly, cutting Ruby off as she began to walk away from the cafeteria.

"B-but I-" Ruby tried to explain.

Glynda turned around, causing Ruby to gulp at the scary look on that face. "Not another word Miss Rose, if I ever see you getting into a fight like this again then I'll send you straight to the Headmaster. Do you understand?"

Ruby gulped, Nodding her head in understanding.

"Good". Professor Goodwitch said before finally exiting the room.

Ruby sighed, not looking forward to the detention as she walked back to her team, only to discover the looks of pure shock on their face.

Ruby groaned _this is gonna be a long day_.

**Author's Note: Hey guys I know it's been a while, but I had to work through some personal issues. Don't worry though! Things finally seem to be back on track for me and updates should go back to normal (2 weeks to a month). But I also used this time to plan out my story some more, which will make writing future chapters A LOT easier. Before I log off for the night, I just wanted to personally want to thank my beta reader Justhatfanboyguy. Without him, this chapter would have been so much worse. As always, reviews are welcomed! See you guys next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: With Great Power….**

Ruby Rose was many things, but patient, was not one of them.

Ruby sighed heavily, continuously tapping her foot on the classroom floor. _Guhhhh why does detention have to be so BORING! _She thought, trying to figure out how to pass the time. She looked around the room, her eyes eventually landing on a small notebook that was peeking out of her bag.

_Hmmm… that could work, _she mused, taking the notebook out of her bag and opened it on a page filled with crude drawings that she made over her last few detentions. These drawings showcased a red and black outfit similar to what she had on now, the only differences being a much shorter skirt and a red spider in the middle of her corset. The ruffles of her current outfit were replaced by more flexible spandex like material. Ruby bit her pencil in contemplation. It_ looks okay but I feel like something's missing, but what? _She mused, trying to think of how to complete the look.

She knew the point of this outfit was to allow herself more mobility when using her powers, and, by all intents and purposes, she had done that, so why did it feel incomplete?_ Is it the skirt? Getting rid of it would probably allow me to move easier, I already had this design made, but making another outfit probably wouldn't be too much trouble. Still…."_ She shook her head, now she was getting off-topic. _If it's not the skirt, then what's-._

"Hey Rubes, what'cha drawing?" Yang asked taking a quick peek at her notebook

Ruby snapped out of her funk, quickly closing her book before Yang could get a good look at it. 'EEP!" she screamed, alarmed by her sister's surprise entrance. "W-when did you get here!?" She sputtered, her heart thumping rapidly from surprise.

Yang's eyebrows rose in amusement, "I'm here to take you back to our room, detention ended like 10 minutes ago.

Ruby mentally facepalmed, _No wonder Weiss keeps calling me a dolt, whatever that means._ "O-oh right, sorry I just uh, got distracted for a bit." She lied, hoping her sister wouldn't press for more.

Luckily if Yang knew she was lying, she didn't show it. "Relax Rubes I was just curious, c'mon, Weiss wants you to study for Port's next test".

Ruby groaned, "Guhhh, but I don't even have any notes for his class."

"Well, then it's a good thing that she's studying with you cause I'm in the same boat". Yang laughed, resting her arms over her head.

Ruby only groaned in response as they made their way back to their dorm room. However, while she was busy groaning in despair about Port's test, she failed to notice the familiar ringing in her head was notifying her that someone was rounding the same corner, causing herself to accidentally stumble into them on accident.

Ruby opened her eyes, noticing her favorite professor she quickly apologized. "O-oh, Professor Peach Hi!" Ruby greeted jovially, happy that she stumbled upon her favorite teacher.

Peach smiled back, pleasantly surprised at seeing the daughter of her old friend. "Hello Ruby, Yang. She greeted, nodding at her two students.

"Hey teach". Yang said, giving her a two-fingered salute.

"What are you doing here Professor?" Ruby asked, wanting to know why Peach was in close proximity to the detention hall.

Peach chuckled, "Oh I was just walking back from the forge, I wanted to upgrade my swords and decided to experiment.

As soon as she mentioned swords Ruby's eyes began to sparkle, "Ooooh! What did you do? Did you upgrade the dust capacitors? Reload speed? Or did you do-". She was cut off when she felt herself being picked up from the ground. 'W-wait Yang! What are you doing!

"C'mon Rubes, we gotta get back to the dorm, it's getting late.

"B-but I want to talk about weapons!" She cried, her arms falling around as she found herself being farther and farther away from Peach.

Peach couldn't help but smile, 'Those two have an absolutely wonderful bond, Summer and Tai must have raised them well". She concluded, continuing her walk to the teachers' lounge.

(oooooo)

The next day, deep in the Emerald Forest, below Beacon academy there stood a group of figures in all black.

"All Right everyone, listen up! If we pull this off we could be rich!" One of the men said, seemingly in charge as he pulled out a map of Beacon's Campus.

"Just tell us what we have to do Boss". One of the grunts smiled, excited at the thought of becoming rich from one mission alone.

"No offense Boss but are you…...sure that the contact can pay the amount he promised us? I don't think there are many people with that type of money that are willing to pay us for our….services". Another grunt said.

The 'Boss' just laughed, exposing his unnaturally white teeth as he turned to the grunt in question. "Trust me, the money he's paying us is nothing more than pennies to him". He reassured the grunt.

The grunt nodded, "Whatever you say, Boss"

The Boss' smiled. Turning his attention towards the map he said, "Remember the plan, I'll snatch the documents from the lab while all of you take care of any distractions…." He trailed off, leaving the statement purposely vague.

Another one of the grunts laughed, "And what do you mean by that Boss?" He asked rhetorically.

The Boss let out a sinister laugh, "Let's just say that our client doesn't want any…...loose ends so to speak".

The grunts all nodded in unison. "That won't be a problem Boss".

The Boss let out one last laugh before saying, "Good…"

(oooooo)

For the past five minutes, Ruby found herself wandering around aimlessly in a dark corridor, the only sign of life being some small strands of webbing scattered about. Suffice to say, Ruby had no idea where she was. "Where am I?" She thought out loud, confused about her way.

Just when Ruby was about to turn around, she heard a disturbingly familiar voice.

"**Ruby." **A voice whispered.

Ruby's heart nearly leaped out of her chest, and she grabbed her chest in surprise. "W-who are you?" She whimpered in surprise.

"**Ruby."** The voice said again, this time coming from all around.

Ruby looked around in confusion with wide terrified eyes, curling up in a ball from the fear around her. "P-please stop". She cried, feeling tears beginning to form in her eyes.

What happened next was the last thing Ruby expected. The voices momentarily stopped, thinking she was in the clear, Ruby slowly opened her eyes, only to hear…

"**Rise child"**. The voice said in a surprisingly soft tone.

Still scared, Ruby slowly stood up, only to be confronted with the same spider that had been haunting her dreams for the last week. 'W-who are you?". Ruby asked once again, hoping to get a definite answer from the beast.

"**The web will reveal all in time, but that is not why I'm here." **The spider answered in an unnaturally calm voice.

Ruby found herself staring at the beast in confusion, "T-then why are you here?" Ruby asked with a slight stutter.

For the first time, the spider visibly shifted, leaning in closer to Ruby it said, **"Be warned child, today will be your first trial. After today, you will be reborn" **Its voice echoed ominously.

"W-what's that supposed to-"

The spider cut her off, **"Never forget, with Great Power, comes Great Responsibility".** It said, the very presence of its voicing causing the room to begin to crack and distort.

'W-wait you told me that already, but what does it-'' She couldn't finish her sentence as she got an eerie sense of Deja vu, the ground beneath Ruby began to crack and crumble, causing Ruby to once again fall below into the inky dark abyss.

"Ruby are you okay?"

Ruby nearly jumped out of her bed, taking deep breaths as she processed her surroundings.

"Woah Woah, it's okay Rubes, it's just us." The figure said soothingly, raising their hands over their head to show that they had no ill intent.

Ruby's vision cleared, finally allowing herself to relax when she realized it was only Yang, her other teammates giving her looks with various levels of concern. 'Oh, it's just you guys." Ruby breathed in relief, happy to be back in a familiar setting.

"Are you okay Rubes? You looked like you were having a nightmare." Yang observed, remembering how uncomfortable her sister looked in her sleep.

"Y-yeah, sorry. I…. had a bad dream"." Ruby said, attempting to laugh it off but to no avail.

WBY collectively raised a brow at this, "Well it must have been some dream, you were talking to yourself….a lot. Weiss observed, crossing her arms.

Ruby's breath got caught in her throat "W-what did I say?" Ruby asked, hoping that she didn't reveal too much.

Weiss shrugged, "Not much, it was more like mindless gibberish if you ask me."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Zwei…" She muttered under her breath.

'What was that?" Weiss asked she could have sworn that Ruby had said something.

"N-nothing!" Ruby said way too quickly, causing her team to look at her in confusion.

"Ooooookay". Yang said, noticing how her sister was obviously being bothered by something. "Well, we were about to go train in one of the spare sparring rooms, wanna come?" Yang asked with a smile, hoping a good spar would get Ruby out of whatever sort if funk she was in.

Yang started to get worried when she noticed how Ruby's eyes had widened considerably, displaying a mixture of excitement and fear before finally landing on what seemed to be a hard resolve. Weiss and Blake must have noticed too as their eyes displayed the same concern as Yang.

"O-oh! Uh sorry, but I need to go to Vale. I…...have to get some new parts for Crescent Rose".

Yang flinched, surprised that her sister would pass up the chance to spar. "Are you…...sure you're okay Rubes? It's only Saturday so we can always spar another time if you aren't feeling up to it". Yang asked, genuinely not wanting her sister to spar if she was coming down with something.

Ruby shook her head, "No, it's okay. I'll come next time, promise." She said, doing her best fake smile.

Hesitantly Yang nodded, turning to go but not before saying, "You know we're always here for you Rubes, and…. if something's on your mind we'll try to help you the best we can, right guys?" She said, turning her head towards her two oddly quiet teammates.

"Of course." Blake spoke genuinely.

"What kind of partner would I be if I let our leader fall behind?" Weiss huffed, crossing her arms in fake bravado.

Despite the weirdness that had been this past week, Ruby smiled, "Thanks guys, I'll keep that in mind."

They smiled, and with that, Ruby was left alone in the room. Ruby just stood still for a few minutes, before finally taking a deep breath. She climbed up her bunk, lifting the mattress to reveal the same outfit she had been sketching over the last few days

_After today…...hopefully, I won't have to hide you anymore. _She thought, stuffing her new outfit into her backpack before finally heading off to vale.

(oooooo)

Later that night Ruby returned, satisfied with her purchase she saw the entrance to the dormitories. She sighed, _This is it…._ She thought, and with a deep breath she opened the door…. only to find that it was completely empty.

Ruby furrowed a brow in confusion, 'Why is it so quiet?" She asked herself, wondering why the hallways were so devoid of life. "Is there assembly or something?" She thought, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for why everything was suddenly so quiet.

She continued to talk to herself until she found herself in the main lounge, once again befuddled at the lack of students, she was about to continue to one of the spare sparring rooms when she suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind her.

Ruby spun around, quickly locking eyes with a man that certainly looked like he belonged at any place but Beacon. He was of a decent height, possibly over six feet, sporting a large black suit, his pearly smile sent chill down her spines. At that moment her 'Spider-sense' as she called was blaring, the ringing noise was almost deafening to her ears. However, it faded away as the man escaped from view, leaving Ruby an extremely confused look on her face.

"Who was that supposed to-".

Peach quickly cut her off, "RUBY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE"." Professor Peach screamed out in a mix of terror and surprise.

Recognizing her voice, Ruby quickly met eyes with Peach, who, in Ruby's opinion, was looking extremely worse for wear. Her normally vibrant hair was extremely tangled and rough, making her look like she had just gotten out of bed. Her normally pristine blouse was covered in sweat and blood. 'P-professor Peach, what happened to your-"

"No time to explain, there's a dangerous group of criminals on the loose, you need to get back to your dorm **now.**" Peach commanded.

Ruby slightly flinched at her tone. However, she quickly collected herself. "B-but I can help, I have these powers that-"

"I don't care what you have, these people are EXTREMELY dangerous and have killed grade A Huntsmen without a second thought!" Peach yelled, not in the mood to deal with overconfident students.

"B-but I-." Ruby hastily stuttered out.

Peach took a moment to collect herself, "Ruby Rose, if you don't go back to your dorm this instant then I will have no choice but to expel you from Beacon Academy, do I make myself clear?" She stated firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Ruby felt like she was at war with herself, a part of her reminding herself about how inexperienced she was with her powers, along with the fact that her aura hasn't been working correctly either. However, another part of her wanted to ignore her professor and help anyways, not caring about the consequences as long she was able to protect the people she cared about. Perhaps If she was only a few years older, that extra wisdom may have led to her making the right choice. But her fear combined with having zero to no experience with her powers led to Ruby making what she would often come to see as the biggest mistake of her life.

Wordlessly, Ruby nodded her head, running in the direction of her dorm while Peach went after the man she saw earlier. While she was running back to her dorm, she could feel her mind nagging at her, replaying the conversation repeatedly until she stopped running. _What am I doing? I should help her!_ Her inner consciousness was telling her. _No, you said it yourself, your aura is acting up and you can barely control your powers. Even if you could help her, she could expel you! Being a huntress is your dream, are you really going to throw it away just because you're worried your Professor can't handle some thug. It's not your problem, let the professionals handle it. _Her logical side was telling her.

She was torn, and she had no idea which part of her was right.

"GUUUH" Ruby yelled out. "I-I have no idea what to do! I wish there was a way for me to hide my face. If only I had a-"

_BANG!_

Ruby paused, her throat constricting in horror. Before Ruby could fully process the noise, she found herself running, unconsciously picking up a nearby mask in the process.

_Ok, Ruby, you can do this. All you have to do is find Professor Peach, punch a couple of bad guys and get back to my dorm before my team even notices that I'm-". _

What she saw was something that would be stitched into her memory for the rest of her life.

Lying on the floor, laid a beaten and battered Peach collapsed in a pile of her own blood.

Ruby's eyes widened in mortification. _No no no no no no, she has to be okay._ She thought. checking her pulse in an attempt to alleviate her distress. Unfortunately, she was too late.

There wasn't a pulse.

Peach was dead, and it was all her fault.

For a moment, time stood still for the young huntress, shocked at the fact that her Professor, the person who told her things about her mom, who opened her door to Ruby out of pure kindness, was gone.

"_It's not your problem". _

"What have I done?" She croaked, looking at her hand now blood-covered hands. "WHAT HAVE I DONE!" She screamed out in pure anguish.

_CLUNK! _

The noise of a door being slammed shut temporarily snapped Ruby out of her anguish, looking in the direction of the noise she spotted **him. **

The man that killed peach

The man that she let go.

The man that would pay for his actions.

**No matter** **what.**

Without a second thought, Ruby sped after the man at an inhuman speed, with only one thought filling her mind.

_MURDERER!_

_(ooooooo) _

The man in black sighed, holding his wounds as he checked on the status of his compatriots. _Dammit, that huntress nearly killed me! If it wasn't for her being distracted by that kid then I'd be a dead man, _the man thought in relief, quickly shaking it off when he heard a call from one of his 'employees'. 'Status report". He asked tiredly, worn out from the fight with Peach.

"We're not doing so good boss". One of the goons responded.

"Yeah boss, were surrounded what are we gonna do?" another goon questioned, fear present in his voice.

He sighed, "Retreat, I have everything we need right- OOF ".

"MURDERER!" Ruby screamed, voice dripping with venom as she punched the man as hard as she could

The man was sent flying, his body landing on the ground so hard that he found his teeth clattered from the impact. The man barely had time to process what just happened before Ruby landed a kick to his side, cracking his ribs on impact before he crashed into a nearby wall. 'W-who are you?" He grunted, secretly afraid of the power the girl displayed.

Ruby momentarily halted her movements, her body shaking with a wave of primordial anger she hasn't felt since her mom died. "How could you..." She spoke shakingly, her voice barely above a whisper.

The man in question couldn't help but look at her in confusion, "W-what?" He asked, not expecting her response.

Ruby glared at him, and he swore that he could see a faint glow behind those blood-red lenses. Ruby clenched her fists tightly, "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER!'" She screamed, voice dripping with venom.

The man could only stare, paralyzed in fear at the sight before him.

After Ruby realized that he wasn't talking she grabbed him by his shirt, forcefully slamming him to a nearby wall. Ruby growled, '"WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! SHE WAS A HUNTRESS; HER JOB WAS TOO PROTECT HUMANITY!" She shouted, throwing him across the pavement.

Ruby fell to her knees, 'W-we should all be fighting together, not against one another". She sobbed, tears quickly finding their way through her mask

After what seemed to be an eternity the man coughed out, "It was just a job, nothing personal kid". The man said, voice devoid of emotion.

Ruby stiffened, standing back up with a renewed vigor. "Just a job?" She asked rhetorically, slowly turning her body to face him.

Silence

The usually cheerful girl was silent, for what felt like an eternity all she would do is stare, feeling as if her eyes were piercing his very soul. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, she snapped.

"JUST A JOB!" She cried, punching the pavement that was dangerously close to face

The man's eyes widened when he saw the freshly made hole made by a girl. "H-hold on kid, maybe we can work something out. He said, his deep voice toned with the slightest ounce of fear.

Ruby's eyes narrowed under the mask, preparing another attack when for the first she looked at him, really looked at him. The man's body was beaten and battered, his face was bruised beyond belief, he looked like he was about to pass out from the pain alone.

"_She always said, With Great Power, There Must Also Come Great Responsibility"_

Ruby gasped under the mask, suddenly finding it very hard to breathe. This isn't what her mom would want, what anyone would want. With newfound clarity, Ruby took a deep breath and turned her attention back to the man below her. Ruby hoisted him up, giving him one last hard look, "I should break you, take what you took from Celestia Peach!" She said, dropping him back on the ground with a thud. An image of her mother briefly clouded her vision. "But she wouldn't approve…. "She fought down the urge to cry, "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility". Before she could further dwell on those words, she heard something in the distance.

"SOMEBODY HELP PLEASE!". Someone girlishly screamed, seemingly coming from the other side of Beacon.

Ruby craned her head in the direction of the noise, her expression morphing into what could only be described as pure determination. _Not again, __**never **__again". _She thought, taking one last look at the men in black before sprinting in the direction of the scream.

(oooooo)

Jaune Arc must have been the unluckiest guy in all of Vale.

All he wanted to do was go into Vale on his day off to get some comics, only for Cardin Winchester to shove him into a locker and send him flying into the emerald forest, forcing him to run away from Grimm all day. When he finally gets back, he gets a notification on his scroll that the school was being attacked. Then his scroll died, so he couldn't even call his team. So, there he was, trying to dodge through Beacon's halls in order to get back to his dorm without being killed by people strong enough to attack the best Huntsmen Academy in the world.

So yeah, pretty unlucky.

_Pyrrha was right, I should have at least brought a map with me._ Jaune thought, facepalming himself for his apparent stupidity. _At least I haven't run into one of those mercenary guys, maybe if I'm lucky I can get out of this in one- _

"Have you heard from the boss? Last time he contacted us, he was busy fighting some huntress chick." Jaune heard the grunt that was in an unusually tight pair of skinny jeans asked.

"Yeah, now that I think about it your right! Do you think she was able to pull one over him somehow? The other grunt asked, just as confused as his partner.

The other grunt only laughed, "Yeah right! You know the boos graduated top of his class; I highly doubt that some measly professor is strong enough to take him down".

Noticing how the grunts seemed so wrapped up in their 'enrapturing' conversation, Jaune decided that this would be the perfect time to walk away.

Unfortunately, Jaune failed to notice that one of his shoes was untied, causing him to trip and fall…..flat on his face. Jaune groaned in pain, _At least Weiss didn't see that. _He thought, messaging his now aching jaw.

"Hey did you hear that?"

Jaune's eyes widened in horror, slowing inching his neck across to the two grunts staring right at him!

Knowing that he was caught, Jaune looked at the grunts, hoping to smooth things out he said, "Heh heh, this isn't the bathroom. I'll, uh, just be going now." Unfortunately, the grunts didn't seem to share the same sentiment, raising their weapons to start shooting at him. Jaune broke into a sprint, running down the halls and screaming, "SOMEBODY HELP PLEASE!"

"Hey, did somebody order a pizza?" A voice quipped.

This caused all three men to stop, looking around the grunts asked, "Who's there?" He questioned, searching for the source of the voice.

"Up here skinny jeans."

The other grunt couldn't help but chortle, "Heh, she's right dude, those are some unusually tight-".

"Shut up". The grunt in the ridiculous looking jeans ordered, focusing on the ceiling above him.

Their eyes widened, Jaune's included when they spotted a very oddly dressed individual who was somehow _sticking_ to the ceiling like glue.

Ruby tilted her head, "What? Don't tell me you've never seen someone stick to a wall before?" She asked in mock surprise.

Before they could answer, Ruby, sprung toward the grunts, taking a swing at the one in the jeans she asked, "So what's your story? Were you promised a buttload of money if you helped steal from one of the best huntsman academies in the world? She quipped, her fist colliding with the man, causing him to stumble back in pain.

Ruby was about to continue her assault when she felt an all too familiar ringing coming from the back of her head, allowing herself to perform a backflip mere milliseconds before the other grunt's fist hit the area she just was._ I knew the skirt was a bad idea._ Landing on a crouch, she said, "Huh, I totally forgot about you". She observed, delivering a spin kick to his jaw.

The man grunted in pain, his skull hitting the pavement with an audible crack.

Ruby winced under the mask. _Oof, maybe I should hold back a bit more, I wouldn't want to kill someone on my first day._ She mused, making a mental note to practice after she got Jaune out of this mess. Unfortunately, her thoughts were cut short when the grunt in the jeans sent a fierce haymaker in her direction.

Luckily, Ruby's spider-sense allowed her to avoid it with ease. "So skinny jeans, your friend is down and you're not looking too good yourself, how about you make it easier for the both of us and give up". She asked, secretly hoping she wouldn't have to hurt the man anymore then she had.

She was met with a fierce growl, "MY NAME. IS NOT. SKINNY JEANS!" He cried, sending a sloppy punch her way.

Ruby sighed, "M'kay, didn't want to do this but…." She mumbled childishly, catching the punch while sending one of her own

The force of her punch made the grunt collide with a nearby wall, knocking him out of the fight.

Ruby let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. _Okay, for a second there I-. _

"THAT. WAS. AWESOME!" Jaune exclaimed, in awe of the girl's strength and agility.

Ruby turned around in surprise, only now remembering that he was the whole reason she started the fight in the first place". "O-oh it was nothing" She squeaked, frazzled by the sudden praise.

Jaune, however, wasn't having any of it, "Are you kidding me? You beat those guys like it was nothing! Who are you!?" He asked in excitement, wanting to know the identity of the girl who saved him.

That snapped her out, finally getting over his praise she said: "O-oh I uh…." She trailed off, not really expecting so many questions. _Is this how it feels when bombarding someone with questions about their weapon? No wonder Yang thinks I'm socially awkward… _"Uh actually, I was kinda hoping that you can just forget this whole thing ever happened". She asked sheepishly, gauging her fellow leader's reaction.

Jaune's brow furrowed in confusion, "Wait what? Why would I-" He was cut off when the girl started to move.

"WellitwasnicemeetingyougottagoBYE! She said, the words coming out of her mouth at a rapid pace before she sped away on the wall closest to her.

After she was out of sight, Jaune could only blink in confusion. "Uh, what just happened?"

(oooooo)

Ruby could only look in sadness when she saw the paramedics put a tarp over Peach's body. She clenched her fist, _It's all my fault, I couldn't even catch the guy. _After she saved Jaune, she went back to find the man in black, only to find that he was gone. _If only I-. _

"RUBY!" Ruby looked over her shoulder, seeing the running forms of her team barreling in her direction Yang quickly rushed over to her sister. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Yang shot question after question, inspecting her sister to make sure she wasn't injured.

"I'm fine Yang, besides…. I'm not the one you should be worrying about." She croaked, her eyes brimming in tears as she stared at Peach's cold dead body.

"Ruby, what do you-" Weiss's words die in her throat when she saw the body.

"My god…." Yang whispered in disbelief.

"That's… awful." Blake said, stunned that somebody actually managed to kill her teacher.

"It's all my fault". Ruby's voice cracked, her eyes filling to the brim with tears.

WBY's eyes widened at her proclamation. "What? Ruby why would you think-" Yang was cut off when she locked her in a fierce embrace.

The other members of team RWBY could only stare in shock, never thinking for a second that Ruby would be this distraught over this. However, Yang didn't question it, only patting her sister on the back as she let it all out.

(oooooo)

Ruby couldn't sleep.

Her mind was filled with the memories of what happened that day, the blood, the tears all of it. With a heavy heart, Ruby quietly got out of her bed, grabbing her ideas book before heading back to bed with a night light.

Going through her book she went to the page with her most recent costume design. She stared at it for a moment before shaking her head and turning to a blank page. With a deep breath, she wrote on the top of the page, Project: 'SS'. _I'm gonna help people…...even if it means not being a huntress when I do_. _I can never forget…. With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility._

(oooooo)

The man in black slowly approached the dark corridor, holding his ribs in pain. _That girl's gonna pay, when I get my hands on her I'll- " _

"Did you get the papers?" The man asked, his features hidden by the darkness.

Quickly shaking his head, he said, "Yeah….AT THE COST OF MY DIGNITY!" The man in black roared, upset by how he was bested by a mere girl. Nevertheless, …he got the job done, that's what truly mattered.

"I…. see that you had some complications". The other man noticed, scanning the man's bruises.

The man in black scoffed, "I know Beacon has some weird kids, but who would have thought one could climb on walls." He said, thinking back to the mysterious girl who bested him

This made the shadowed man pause, "… What did you say?" The man asked in slight disbelief.

The man in black coughed, "There was some weird chick who could climb on walls, not to mention that her strength and speed were off the charts, especially for a kid."

The shadowed man's eyes briefly narrowed, before quickly reverting to their normal state. "Interesting, nonetheless… a deal's a deal. He said, taking out a briefcase full of money.

The man in black smiled, "Pleasure doing business with ya." He grinned, eagerly taking the money before turning around.

"Oh, and one more thing." The shadowed man asked, causing the mercenary to momentarily halt.

"Huh? What is-"

_BANG!_

The man in black briefly stared, wide-eyed before falling to the ground, limp.

"You were of great help, but unfortunately …. He trailed off, stepping out of the shadows to reveal Norman Osborn. "I can't have any loose ends."

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late update…. again, but School has really been kicking my ass. I'll try to get the next one out in a timely manner. I hope you enjoy and as always, leave a review if you can!**


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